The door creaked open quietly.
Two completely covered figures slipped inside.
Tara stiffened instantly. "Did you hear that?"
Lav was already on his feet. "Yeah."
Before either of the figures could speak, Lav grabbed the nearest lamp. "Hey! Who are you?"
Maya froze. "Wait—"
Too late.
Lav stepped forward quickly, grabbing Vedh by the collar. "Breaking in at this hour? Seriously?"
Vedh stumbled back, hands up. "Lav, wait—"
Tara rushed over and yanked Maya's arm. "Are you crazy? Breaking into our house?"
Maya panicked. "No, no, no—this isn't—"
Lav shoved Vedh against the wall. "You picked the wrong place."
"STOP!" Maya yelled, finally pulling her burkha back just enough.
The room went dead silent.
Tara blinked. "…Maya?"
Lav froze mid-motion and turned slowly. "What?"
Vedh pulled his mask down, rubbing his shoulder slightly, and smiled. "And before you hit me again—hi."
For a second, no one spoke.
Then Tara's jaw dropped. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"
Lav stepped back immediately. "What were you thinking? You scared the hell out of us!"
Maya adjusted her burkha awkwardly. "Well… technically, that means the disguises worked."
Tara crossed her arms, clearly torn between relief and anger. "You both are unbelievable."
Vedh rubbed his shoulder. "In our defense, you almost broke my ribs."
Lav sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Next time, say something before giving us a heart attack."
Maya grinned nervously. "Noted." Tara frowned. "Wait… why the disguises?" Vedh tugged Maya's hand with a mischievous grin. "You tell them—it was your plan." "No! You tell them! You agreed!" Maya protested, laughing, and gave him a gentle push. Vedh pushed back lightly, still grinning. "No, seriously… you tell them!"
The two of them bounced off each other a couple more times, laughing and shoving, neither willing to take the blame. Finally, Vedh grabbed her hand firmly. "Okay, fine—we'll just run," he said, dragging her toward the door.
In a blink, they were gone, leaving Tara and Lav stunned. Down the hallway, the sound of Maya's giggles and Vedh's chuckling echoed behind them. more playful.
They finally reached the place. Vedh looked around, impressed. "Ohh… so this is the place where you people met for the first time?"
Maya nodded. "Yeah. But we have to go to the other lane—the one near here where hardly anyone comes. I'm sure this isn't the spot he meant." Vedh gave her a teasing wink. "Well, I guess you know him pretty well, huh?"
Maya rolled her eyes. "Shut up," she muttered, walking ahead.
Vedh chuckled softly and followed her, still clearly amused.
They waited in silence for a long while, but no one showed up.
After a moment, Vedh spoke, his voice turning serious. "Hey… I'm sorry, but it's been a while. I think we should head back home. It's dangerous for you to stay here."
Before Maya could respond, a sudden engine noise cut through the silence.
A black van pulled up—but it stopped at a distance.
Vedh and Lav watched from afar as the doors slid open and several people stepped out—faces hidden behind masks, guns clutched tightly in their hands. And within seconds, the piercing sound of police sirens filled the air.
Maya and Vedh's hearts nearly stopped. So did the masked men's.
Panic spread instantly. Realizing they had been trapped, the masked men tried to escape through the back route—but the police had already sealed off the entire area. Every exit was blocked. There was nowhere to run. Veer's army was caught.
Veer sat alone in a dark, dimly lit room. At a sleek glass table, he calmly sipped his red wine, as if it were just another ordinary evening.
Then the phone rang.
He picked it up, not expecting any trouble. On the other end, the man sounded breathless. "Boss—" he said, stopping to exhale, struggling to steady his voice. "The cops are here. I think… I think someone set us up, sir. There's no way anyone was supposed to know about this."
Veer said nothing.
"They got us… all of us," the man continued, panic breaking through his words. "I'm only alive because I stepped away for a moment to see if everything was clear."
"They came from everywhere," he said, voice cracking. "Sirens, lights—guns pointed at us. There was nowhere to run."
The man swallowed hard. "We were surrounded, boss. Completely."
Silence hung on the line. Veer slowly lowered his glass to the table. Surprisingly, he didn't curse or yell at the man—he just hung up the call and took a long, steady breath. He got up and walked to the window, eyes fixed on the city as evening bled into night and the last glow disappeared. The fading lights reminded him that the little warmth he had felt for Maya was gone—leaving her with nothing but darkness. Veer cracked his knuckles and stretched his neck, a dangerous smile spreading slowly across his face. "Mmm… not bad, Maya," he murmured, voice low and dangerous. "But guess what? Now… the real game begins."
Meanwhile…
Maya's eyes sparkled as she shook Vedh's arm excitedly. "Dude! Did my secret admirer do all this? Aww… he's so cute!"
Vedh raised an eyebrow, half amused, half exasperated. "Wait… are you fangirling over him or what?"
Maya didn't answer. She was too busy watching the masked men disappear into the night. Slowly, almost to herself, she whispered, "Mm… I think I do… like this secret admirer."
Vedh's eyes widened. "Huh? Wait… what did you just say?"
Maya quickly looked down, cheeks flushing. "What? N—nothing."
Vedh leaned closer, a teasing smirk on his face. "I heard you, Maya."
Her lips curved into an awkward, shy smile. "Oh… you did?" And then she jumped like an excited rabbit, her joy impossible to contain—like a kid in love. Vedh grabbed her gently by the shoulders, a mix of amusement and warning in his voice. "Maya! Chill! Chill! Calm down, they'll hear us!"
But it was too late. The cops had noticed them. One officer called out," Hey! What are you two doing here?"
Maya froze, still grinning like a fool, while Vedh muttered under his breath, "Perfect… just perfect."
Vedh blurted out, out of nowhere, "She's my wife… and she's pregnant. We're just heading for a regular check-up."
"Whaaaat?!" Maya exclaimed, eyes wide.
Before she could say more, Vedh immediately covered her mouth with his hand. "Shh… quiet. Play along," he murmured.
"I don't have a tummy! I have a slim, perfect figure!" Maya said proudly, flipping her hair.
Vedh groaned and facepalmed. "Come on… you had your meals, right? Just push your tummy forward!"
Maya shot him a look that could kill him.
"We didn't have anything today, dumbo."
Vedh raised an eyebrow. "Okay… but still, pretend you're in the early stage of pregnancy."
"Oh god, Vedh, seriously? You've got no other reason?" Maya groaned.
Vedh tilted his head, smirking. "Then… tell me, what idea do you have?"
Maya hesitated."Uhmm… nothing."
Vedh gave her a pointed look. "See? Exactly."
They both started murmuring to each other, trying to figure out how to look convincing, when a cop's voice cut through sharply. "Enough! What are you two doing here?"
Maya forced a blank expression ."Y-yes, sir… we're heading to the hospital for a check-up."
The cop gave a quick nod."Mm… okay. Leave this place, ASAP. It's dangerous for the three of you."
And just like that, he left.
As soon as they were out of the cops' line of sight, both of them cracked up into uncontrollable laughter.
"What the hell… that actually worked?!" Maya gasped between giggles. "Of course it did," Vedh said proudly, smiling. "And now… we have to face another consequence."
Maya gave him a confused look. "Wait… what?"
Vedh leaned closer, lowering his voice dramatically. "Tara and Lav… they're gonna kill us for sure."